Soldier
by A Rose is a Rose is a Rose
Summary: June's life starting on her twenty-first birthday and chronicling her complicated history with Anden.


**This is my first fanfic. I was inspired to write it after bawling over the conclusion to the Legend trilogy.**

**My interpretation of June's 21st Birthday. "My twenty-first birthday was an elaborate affair in Vegas. where Anden invited me to a summer festival and then ended up kissing me in my hotel room."**

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters this setting. They belong to Marie Lu.**

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2355 Hours, July 11.

Las Vegas, Nevada

95° F.

Fireworks streak the sky, exploding in bursts of light against my face. Anden stands across from me, his face bathed in flashes of green and white and red and blue. He has insisted that I attend the summer festival in Las Vegas this year. We are celebrating my twenty-first birthday together under exploding lights that I have never seen anything like. I smile up at Anden, unable to contain my happiness for the first time in what seems like forever. He had insisted on spending my birthday with me this year after learning that I had spent my twentieth birthday alone. I don't see Anden very often because he is so busy, but he uses my birthdays as an excuse to drop everything and come see me. This is our last night at the festival together, and Anden in leaving on official business in the morning. Perhaps that is why I can see his feelings so obviously in his eyes.

I have always known how Anden cares for me. I can still remember the desire in his eyes the night he kissed me in Antarctica so many years ago. The same unrelenting, obvious rapture was still painted across his face.

Could our first kiss have been so long ago? I was just a teenager. I was also hopelessly in love with another boy.

Day. It still stung to remember him, and how much I miss him. I would never stop loving Day. But, over time, the pain had started to heal. It stayed disturbingly close to the surface, like seeing Day's face again would bring it back in an explosion of grief, but I had learned to hide it away. My feelings for Day are a constant, dull throb, and I assume they will always remain that way.

But in the moment, all I can think about is Anden. He has finally become the leader that the Republic needs. I am so proud of him. In the light of the fireworks, he looks more mature, but he always retains his confident air of grace and leadership. He never received a choice to become Elector, but he has taken his burden with immense courage. The Republic is stronger and happier than it ever has been, and I love Anden for it.

"June," he whispers, gently stroking his fingers along my cheek and moving my hair aside. I am wearing it down, and it falls against my face, something I am not used to after having it tied back to fight so often. "I don't know how I have survived missing you for this long. I wish that you wanted to be Princeps. I wouldn't hesitate to have you leading by my side."

"We both know how charming Princeps Mariana is," I tease. "I would have myself believe that you have fallen in love with her." Anden's eyes chastise me for teasing him, but he still seems happy. Princeps Mariana is all business. Other than her intense desire to lead the Republic, I almost believe she had no feelings at all. Not to mention, she is more than fifteen years his senior. I knew that Anden would never fall in love with her. Throughout the years, I have even indulged myself by convincing myself that he had never really stopped caring for me.

Anden's dark hair curls in his face and he leans in closer. My heart is hammering against my chest. "June," he repeats my name, making me dizzy. I never thought that hearing my name on Anden's lips would sound so good. "You get more and more beautiful every time I see you, you know that right?" I feel heat ring in my cheeks. "Can we talk somewhere, privately?" I nod immediately, and I am surprised at my eagerness to be alone with Anden. He had once used the same words to infer a professional talk about saving the Republic, but he is now inferring something more private and meaningful.

We don't speak for a while. He takes his hand in mine and we run back to my hotel. I can hear his wild, sporadic breathing, and I am certain that he can hear mine too. His eyes are dark pools of liquid coal, and I can slowly feel myself melting into them.

We arrive at my hotel room, and I am suddenly unable to breathe. My chest freezes as I unlock the door. I take one last look at Anden before we slip inside. His curls are rumpled and falling across his face in a boyish fashion that makes my heart pound. He looks my age for once. I am used to him seeming so much older. Now, he looks like a clumsy, reckless young man who isn't quite sure what he is doing.

The only light spilling into my apartment comes from outside. Fireworks echo across my living room from the sliding glass door across the room. Anden surprises me by trapping me against the wall with his arm and leaning in immediately to kiss me. The pressure of his lips is light and graceful at first, as it had always been. Then, almost immediately, it fills with intensity and desperation. Anden's hands press against my back, digging into my long hair. He has always held back before, but I can feel his resolve ebbing away. He still cares for me. I kiss his back just as desperately. It feels so good to be wanted after all these years of intensity and loneliness. For the longest time, I have had only Ollie and Tess to comfort me. Now, the Elector Primo is in my apartment, kissing me hungrily, and I can do nothing but enjoy it immensely.

We break apart suddenly, and both of us are gasping for air. Anden looks at me in a way that he never has before after kissing me. I can tell that he finally isn't sorry for giving into his feelings. He knows that I don't belong to Day anymore. I haven't belonged to Day for years. "I needed that," Anden gasps. "June, I think I need you. I have gone on missing you for so long. I love you. I always have."

I am taken aback by his words, even though I have been expecting them. Anden is lacking his professionalism for the first time I have ever seen. He is just a boy, and he is giving his heart to me.

I don't love him yet, but I can already feel myself falling. "Will you stay with me? Will you be with me, June? You have refused to become my Princeps, but I refuse to let that keep you from me any longer. Do you think you can learn to care for me?" Anden speaks with a desperation that I have never before associated with him.

Then, I take a step forward into a world of possibilities. And all it takes is one word. "Yes."

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